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SDA Hymnal 625

Higher Ground

Words: Johnson Oatman Jr.

Studio

1I'm pressing on the upward way,
New heights I'm gaining every day;
Still praying as I onward bound,
"Lord, plant my feet on higher ground."

RefrainLord, lift me up, and I shall stand
By faith, on heaven's table-land;
A higher plane than I have found;
Lord, plant my feet on higher ground.

2My heart has no desire to stay
Where doubts arise and fears dismay;
Though some may dwell where these abound,
My prayer, my aim is higher ground.

3I want to live above the world,
Though Satan's darts at me are hurled;
For faith has caught the joyful sound,
The song of saints on higher ground.

4I want to scale the utmost height,
And catch a gleam of glory bright;
But still I'll pray till heaven I've found,
"Lord, lead me on to higher ground."

Scripture
Philippians 3:14; Colossians 3:1-2

The verse

Meter
8.9.8.8
Foot
iambic (da-DUM) · 70% of beats fit
Rhyme
AABB
Scan every line

/ stressed · ˘ unstressed · ? not in the dictionary

Verse 1

I'm pressing on the upward way,//˘˘˘/˘/8A
New heights I'm gaining every day;////˘/˘˘/9A
Still praying as I onward bound,//˘˘˘/˘/8B
"Lord, plant my feet on higher ground."//˘/˘/˘/8B

Verse 2

My heart has no desire to stay˘/˘˘˘/˘˘/9A
Where doubts arise and fears dismay;//˘/˘/˘/8A
Though some may dwell where these abound,//˘//˘˘/8B
My prayer, my aim is higher ground.˘/˘/˘/˘/8B

Verse 3

I want to live above the world,˘/˘/˘/˘/8A
Though Satan's darts at me are hurled;//˘/˘˘˘/8A
For faith has caught the joyful sound,˘/˘/˘/˘/8B
The song of saints on higher ground.˘/˘/˘/˘/8B

Verse 4

I want to scale the utmost height,˘/˘/˘///8A
And catch a gleam of glory bright;˘/˘/˘/˘/8A
But still I'll pray till heaven I've found,˘/////˘//9B
"Lord, lead me on to higher ground."//˘˘˘/˘/8B

Refrain

Lord, lift me up, and I shall stand//˘˘˘˘˘/8A
By faith, on heaven's table-land;˘/˘/˘???8B
A higher plane than I have found;˘/˘/˘˘˘/8C
Lord, plant my feet on higher ground.//˘/˘/˘/8C

Counted by machine from the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. It cannot hear emphasis or a poet’s licence, so treat it as a place to start reading, not the last word.